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Poster:
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Elric_Dewisant |
Date:
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February 24, 2011 06:31:06pm |
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Forum:
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feature_films
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Subject:
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Re: Question of VIDEO-CELLAR or anyone else... re: DRACULA... |
Point of history here, which may also help explain some things. According to the Kino "ultimate" DVD release of the film, when Nosferatu came out in the 20s, Stoker's widow was still alive and acting on behalf of his estate.
Apparently, what went down, was that she was approached to consult on the film, because, as was rightly pointed out, he novel was already out of copyright then, and she turned them down. Apparently, film was, in her eyes, about as tawdry as prostitution, which was a common, though dying, mindset when vaudeville was king (it also explains why Keaton was delayed until 1917 before entering film, as he father felt that way and forbid him to give up the cash cow that was the family stage act for "that degenerate thing called film", but that's another snippet).
When the film went ahead without her, she was so incensed that she sued in every single nation the film opened....and usually won, even though she didn't have a legal leg to stand on, anywhere. In the end, she had control over nearly every last print (which she had destroyed, including the negative) and right to the damn thing...hence it's very sad state, today...and possibly the gun-shy attitude every filmmaker seems to have toward the PD property.
I wonder if the Stoker Estate is still around...
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Poster:
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Freddie Jaye |
Date:
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February 25, 2011 11:35:01am |
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Forum:
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feature_films
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Subject:
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Re: Question of VIDEO-CELLAR or anyone else... re: DRACULA... |
The estate is till in operation (at least, it was in late '09). Supposedly, an official sequel to the book was about to be released then, and this article also mentions movie rights to it.
http://io9.com/#!5361879/bram-stokers-descendant-pens-official-dracula-sequel
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Poster:
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George Peter Gatsis |
Date:
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February 26, 2011 09:57:49am |
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Forum:
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feature_films
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Subject:
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Re: Question of VIDEO-CELLAR or anyone else... re: DRACULA... |
Out of sheer curiosity... I went over to gutenberg.org and downloaded the text... and had the computer read Dracula to me...
(yes, yes... I am a lazy bugger)
And there is no place in the novel that remotely suggests any of the characters would develop dark attitudes like Seward ending up a drug addict...
I fear the new official sequel novel to Dracula by the "Family" is just a generic attempt at storytelling (ex. dumping on what happened before) and a grab at money...
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